from Matsu Wa Misao Onna Kusanoki (“Steadfast as the pine tree is the woman of the Kusanoki clan”)

Toshusai Sharaku
Japanese, active 1794-95

This unique woodblock print—TMA’s is the only known impression—by important and mysterious Japanese printmaker Toshusai Sharaku features the Kabuki actor Onoe Matsusuke (1744-1815) in his celebrated role as the tyrant Ashikaga Takauji in the play Matsu Wa Misao Onna Kusanoki (“Steadfast as the pine tree is the woman of the Kusanoki clan”).

Sharaku created a new form of actor print, often taking into consideration the actor's personality as well as the role he was portraying. His exaggeration of their personal physical traits created a form of caricature not always appreciated by his subjects. Sharaku's designs, numbering around 160, were all published during a ten-month period between 1794 and 1795, when the artist mysteriously disappeared.

 

Color woodblock print, 1794
Purchased with funds given by Jonathan Orser and from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott, by exchange, 2006.38

Due to their sensitivity to light, works on paper may only be on view for a few months at a time, so visit often to see refreshed gallery installations and exhibitions.